8th Dec 2020, 4:45 PM – Representatives Corporations Amendment (Corporate Insolvency Reforms) Bill 2020 - Consideration in Detail - Review and sunset

The majority voted in favour of disagreeing with amendments introduced by Whitlam MP Stephen Jones (Labor), which means the amendments failed.

Jones explained that these amendments did two things:

Firstly, they impose a requirement for a statutory review, which I understand to be something that the government will support. Secondly, they impose a requirement that the new provisions be sunsetted. I understand that the government does not support that proposition. I just want to make clear that the sunset provision gives ample time for us to get through the crisis, for us to get through the stock of anticipated insolvencies, for a review to occur and for the emergency provisions to be sunsetted, unless they are altered by new provisions that may enjoy the agreement of both houses of this place.

Amendment text

(1) Clause 2, page 2 (at the end of the table), add:

6. Schedule 5 The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

(2) Page 104 (after line 16), at the end of the Bill, add:

Schedule 5—Review of provisions and sunsetting

1 Review of Act

(1) The Minister must cause a review to be undertaken of the operation of the amendments made by this Act.

(2) Without limiting subitem (1), the review must consider the following:

(a) the efficacy of the amendments;

(b) the appropriateness of the amendments as a permanent features of the insolvency regime;

(c) any further amendments recommended to be made to the insolvency regime if the amendments made by this Act operated for a longer period of time or permanently;

(d) the effect of the amendments made by this Act on unincorporated small business creditors such as sole traders and partnerships, including any increase in individual bankruptcies that are correlated with, or attributable to, the amendments.

(3) The review must commence no later than 31 December 2021.

(4) The person or persons undertaking the review must give the Minister a written report of the review by 31 March 2022.

(5) The Minister must cause a copy of the report of the review to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after it is given to the Minister.

2 Sunsetting of amendments

An Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is taken, on and after the following day, to have effect as if the amendments made by this Act to that Act had not been made:

(a) if paragraph (b) does not apply—31 December 2022; or

(b) if the review has not commenced by 31 December 2021 in accordance with subitem 1(3)—31 December 2021.